For version 3.0 I'm considering going 100% implicit handles and remove the @ symbol completely from from the language (the result being much more similar to Java). Version 3.0 is very far away though, and my plans can change many times until then.

I think that might avert a great deal of confusion -- I've had some of my collaborators trip over the present @ semantics. A new operator like ":=" for value assignment might be an order if such a change is made, though.